Brainteasers and Games Camp | Video

Kristin Clouston | 7/23/2012

Summer is a great time for physical activities, but this week kids in Bismarck are also getting to exercise their brains, thanks to a program at Gateway to Science.

Building a boat out of aluminum foil has it`s challenges

"Make a boat that`s not too heavy but make it sturdy so it can hold the most pennies possible," said camper Zoey Schmit.

In this activity campers get to come up with and test three designs before officially having to float their boats.

"The fact that it`s hard to figure out. It`s like a puzzle, and I love puzzles. It`s like a puzzle without all the pieces," said camper Grant Gader.

"In some stuff you`re flying solo and in some stuff you`re in a group and you have different ideas and it turns out cool because you never would have guessed those ideas," Schmit said.

They worked as teams when it was time to design and build towers.

"We built towers for this one guy and he`s cheap so we had to make it as cheap as possible," Schmit said.

"We tried to keep a triangle design that was 15 straws straight up, but then the teacher told us it would better to just keep them that way," Gader said.

The projects get harder through out the week and campers will come up with different strategies using math and various types of shapes.

The Discovery Center has all kinds of fun opportunities to learn about science in the summer. Visit gatewaytoscience.org for more information.

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